Use of the Internet has raised major public issues around the definition of public and private information. Will the public need to adapt to new definitions of the public and private?

1. The Politics of Access William H. Dutton Oxford Internet Institute (OII) Balliol College University of Oxford What is public in the digital age? Presentation for the 2011 Oxford Alumni Weekend, Lecture Room XXIII, Balliol College, Friday 16 September 2011.

8. “ [Edmund] Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more prominent far than they all. It is not a figure of speech, or witty saying; it is a literal fact – very momentous to us in these times.” Thomas Carlyle (1831), Heroes and Hero-Worship , at www.gutenberg.org.etext/1091 The Fourth Estate

9. Feudal Estates into the 21 st Century Estates Feudal Modern Clergy Public Intellectuals Nobility Business, Industry and Economic Elites Commons Government ‘ 4 th Estate’ Press Journalists and the Mass Media Mob Civil Society, Individuals, Mobs, … ?

16. Pattern of Findings Supporting Conception of Networked Individuals

18. Sermo

19. Networked Institutions v Networked Individuals of the Fifth Estate Arenas: Networked Institutions Networked Individuals News Online journalism, BBC Online, Live Micro-Blogging Citizen Journalists, Bloggers, Netizens Posting Videos Democracy E-Consultation, e-Voting, e-Petitions, Citizen Sourcing Obama campaign, Networking the Pro-Democracy Protests Education Online Learning, Multimedia Classrooms Backchannels, informal learning Health and Medical NHS Direct, Web First, e-mailing safety alerts Going to the Internet for health information, Sermo

21. The Fourth Estate Depends on an Independent Press – Independent in Relation to Other Estates The Fourth Estate : News of the World Case

23. “ Wael Ghonim, a 30-year-old executive from Google, was the administrator of an anti-torture page on Facebook, the social networking website, that is widely credited with organising the first day of protest [in Egypt] on January 25.” Jon Swaine, The Telegraph, 11 Feb 2011

26. The Fifth Estate ? England Riots & Cleanup

27. 18th Century Estates: 21st Century Enemies 18th Century Estates 21st Century: Enemies of the 5th Estate Attacks Clergy Public Intellectuals ‘ Culture of Amateurism’, individualist consumerism Nobility Business, Industry and Economic Elites Vertical Integration; Monopoly over Search; Three Strikes Commons Government and Regulatory Agencies Filtering; Content Regulation; Identification; Surveillance; Disconnection Press Journalists and the Mass Media Co-opting, Imitating, Competing, and Supporting Mob Spammers, Fraudsters, Cyberstalkers, Rioters… Undermining Trust and Confidence; Fostering Regulation of Content, Attacks on Anonymity

28. Centrality of the Internet, Trust in Government and Attitudes toward Internet Regulation over Time OxIS 2003: N=2,029; OxIS 2005: N=2,185; OxIS 2007 N=2,350. OxIS 2009: N=2,013

30. Balancing Rights within an Ecology of Choices

32. The Politics of Access William H. Dutton Oxford Internet Institute (OII) Balliol College University of Oxford What is public in the digital age? Presentation for the 2011 Oxford Alumni Weekend, Lecture Room XXIII, Balliol College, Friday 16 September 2011.